PTBLSI chapter 36

 

After Qi Xi spoke, the room fell silent for a while. Qi Feng stared at his son in disbelief. It wasn’t that what Qi Xi said was so shocking; rather, it was that, in all the years Qi Xi had grown up, this was the first time he had defended himself like this. It was the first time he had spoken so loudly and firmly.

In that moment, Qi Feng felt as if he didn’t recognize Qi Xi at all; the son he had raised for twenty years had suddenly become a stranger.

He took a deep breath and finally spoke. “I think you’ve been brainwashed by him! Outstanding? Where exactly are you outstanding? What are you good at? Crying for attention, then acting like a dog and begging for pity? Stop embarrassing me. Go upstairs. Stay here and think it through properly!”

There was no longer a room in the house that belonged to Qi Xi. His original room had become Qi Zhounan’s new study. Qi Feng forcibly dragged Qi Xi upstairs and locked him in that room.

When Qi Xi heard the lock fall into place, the tears he had held back instantly returned. The last time he was this devastated was on the second day after his mother’s burial when he woke up and realized that he no longer had a mom.

He hugged Dasheng and cried for a whole day, then was sick for a week. His grandpa took care of him the whole time. After he recovered, his grandpa fell ill. Not long after that, he lost the last person who truly cared about him.

He still remembered the day his grandpa passed away. He went to look for Qi Feng, only to find him with a woman and a little boy. They looked like a family.

Soon after, Qi Feng brought that woman and the little boy home. Only then did he realize that they really were a family, and he was the odd one out.

—You never cared about me at all, so what right do you have to control me now!

Qi Xi suddenly missed Fu Yanchuan. What if Fu Yanchuan went back and found that he was gone? Would he come looking for him? Would he come and take him back?

After receiving Qi Xi’s message that he was going to the mall, Fu Yanchuan heard no further news from him. He thought Qi Xi was busy shopping and didn’t have time to reply. After work, he called Qi Xi but heard the prompt that the phone was powered off.

The first thing he thought of was whether Fu Zhenrong had done something to Qi Xi. He immediately rushed back. Sure enough, Qi Xi wasn’t there. After calming down for a moment, he went to check the surveillance cameras.

The cameras in the residential area showed that Qi Xi had left the complex in the afternoon. Judging by the direction in which he left and the message he sent, he should have walked to the mall.

The mall happened to be an industry under his group. He checked the footage at the fastest possible speed and discovered that Qi Xi had been forcibly taken into a car.

Due to the limited angle, the cameras didn’t capture who took Qi Xi away clearly. He immediately called Qiu Yizhou and ordered him to have someone investigate the car that took Qi Xi.

The surveillance room staff had never seen the big boss before. They didn’t know exactly who was missing, but with Fu Yanchuan standing there, they felt as if the god of death had arrived. No one dared to make a sound, and they were careful with their breathing.

Fortunately, Qiu Yizhou called back soon after. Fu Yanchuan answered and immediately asked, “Found them?”

Qiu Yizhou had rarely heard Fu Yanchuan sound so anxious and couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

Fu Yanchuan immediately understood what Qiu Yizhou meant. “It wasn’t my dad?”

“Indeed not your dad, but his dad.”

The way he put it was so roundabout that Fu Yanchuan almost didn’t understand. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Where was he taken?”

“He should be home. I’ll send you the address.”

Fu Yanchuan was about to hang up when Qiu Yizhou asked, “President Fu, what are you planning to do? Go to their door and demand him back? They’re father and son. What identity are you going in with?”

“Qi Xi is an adult. Where he goes doesn’t require parental consent.”

Qiu Yizhou laughed and teased him, “Are you so confident that Qi Xi will definitely go with you?”

This time, Fu Yanchuan didn’t even pause to reply before hanging up.

In the depths of winter, it got dark earlier and earlier. Qi Xi cried until he was exhausted. He curled up in the chair and fell asleep. The sudden sound of a key unlocking the door startled him awake.

The room wasn’t lit. He only saw a shadow squeeze in through the crack in the door. After the door closed, the shadow turned on the light. Then, he saw Qi Zhounan holding a box of crispy fried pork.

“Brother, are you hungry? It’s your favorite. Would you like some?”

Sitting behind Qi Zhounan’s desk, Qi Xi replied stubbornly, “I won’t eat.”

Qi Zhounan placed the pork on the desk and stood beside Qi Xi. After lowering his head and looking at Qi Xi for a long time, he finally asked, “Are you still angry with me?”

“What am I angry at you for?”

Qi Xi looked at Qi Zhounan in confusion. Qi Zhounan hesitated, then told him, “I was the one who told Dad that you were with that man.”

Qi Xi suddenly slapped both hands on the desk and stood up. “Now I’m angry!”

After saying that, he immediately pulled his hands back and rubbed them together. He always forgot to control his strength every time he slapped a desk. It really pissed him off.

Qi Zhounan was upset at that moment and didn’t notice that Qi Xi had hurt his hands. He reached out to grab Qi Xi’s hands and said, “Brother, do you think I stole your father’s love? Is it my fault that you became an outsider in this family and that no one cares about you anymore?”

Qi Xi had never thought about these things before, but once Qi Zhounan said them out loud, he couldn’t say no. Qi Zhounan was the favorite in the family. He envied him and had often wished he were Qi Zhounan.

Qi Zhounan looked at Qi Xi and gave a weary smile. “I knew it. But actually, they don’t care about me either. In Cui Tingting’s eyes, I’m just a tool to secure her status as Mrs. Qi. Qi Feng only cares about me because I can be shown off!

I don’t like horseback riding. I don’t like math Olympiads! I don’t like English! I don’t like the violin either. My so-called excellence is nothing more than him casually telling others one or two sentences like ‘My Zhounan won an award in equestrianism’ or ‘won a prize in violin’!”

Qi Zhounan matured early, likely stemming from his awareness that he was an unwanted presence. From the moment he could remember, Cui Tingting had been telling him so.

“Your dad doesn’t like Qi Xi because he’s too stupid. But Nannan is so smart—a hundred times smarter than him. In the future, everything your dad has will be yours. Don’t let Mom down.”

When he was little, he didn’t understand. It wasn’t until he met Qi Xi. At that time, he had just started elementary school. Cui Tingting signed him up for all kinds of training and interest classes, never asking whether he was interested and forcing him to learn everything.

During his expensive tutoring sessions, he watched Qi Xi play soccer with the cat in the yard and wished he could be as carefree as him.

In this family, maybe Qi Xi felt like an outsider, but to him, his brother was the most beautiful sight outside his window, always carefree.

Suddenly, Qi Zhounan hugged Qi Xi and accused him, “After you left, this house became even more suffocating. Can you take me away, too? When I grow up, I’ll earn money and support you. I don’t want to stay here alone. I’m going crazy!”

Qi Xi didn’t understand Qi Zhounan. He didn’t understand why he would have such thoughts. In his opinion, Qi Zhounan was the favored one who got whatever he wanted. He was smart, got good grades, and was always praised. He should have been the happiest and most carefree person in the family.

But when he pushed him away, he saw the teenager’s reddened eyes. It was as if he disliked this home just as much as he did.

“Oh, right, brother.”

Qi Zhounan suddenly opened the cabinet beside him and took out a carefully wrapped bag. “I packed up all your paintings for you. I knew you must have forgotten to take them.”

Happily, Qi Xi tore open a corner of the bag. Sure enough, inside were neatly rolled-up paintings. He had thought they had all been thrown away with his clothes. He looked at Qi Zhounan gratefully. “You’re too good! Thank you, little brother! I thought they were all gone.”

Suddenly, Qi Zhounan blurted out, “Brother, do you really like that man? Do you really like men?”

Qi Xi’s eyes were full of the paintings he had gotten back. Without thinking carefully about what Qi Zhounan had asked, he answered without hesitation, “Yeah, I like him!”

Qi Zhounan’s worldview was shaken. He stared fixedly at Qi Xi. “Is he really good to you? Is he really not lying to you? Someone as simple as you is easily deceived by bad men.”

This time, Qi Xi finally heard him clearly. He tapped the rolled paintings on Qi Zhounan’s head. “Brother Yan isn’t a bad man! I’m leaving. I’m going back to find Brother Yan.”

He hugged the paintings and jumped onto the bay window. Qi Zhounan was so scared that he hurriedly grabbed him. “Brother, what are you doing? Jumping out the window?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t get hurt!”

Qi Xi promised confidently, one leg already over the windowsill. He had already stepped one leg over the windowsill. Qi Zhounan held onto him, refusing to let go. “Can you take me with you?”

“You really want to go?”

Qi Zhounan nodded firmly. Qi Xi agreed just as decisively. “Let’s go!”

But he became doubtful. “Are you really going?”

“Your legs are your own. You can leave if you want. But if you leave, you’ll be sent back because you’re a minor!”

Qi Xi knew this because he had run away from home when he was in his first year of high school. Cui Tingting had said that Dasheng was shedding fur and wanted to throw him away. But Dasheng usually stayed in his room and rarely went out. The housekeeper barely cleaned his room. He always cleaned up Dasheng’s fur himself.

Qi Feng didn’t listen to his explanation, saying it was just a cat. While he was at school, he threw Dasheng away. Fortunately, Dasheng was smart enough to find his way back.

Fearing that Dasheng would be thrown away again, he ran away from home with him. Qi Feng called the police. He was found and sent back. After some persuasion from the police, Qi Feng reluctantly agreed not to send Dasheng away again.

Qi Zhounan thought for a moment, then packed his backpack decisively. He took out a climbing rope, tied it to the desk, and said to Qi Xi, “Brother, this way it’s less likely to get hurt.”

Qi Xi didn’t consider what would happen after taking Qi Zhounan away. Since Qi Zhounan wanted to leave, they would leave. He accepted Qi Zhounan’s suggestion, and the two of them climbed down from the window using the rope.

Below was the back of the yard. The only light source was the dim streetlamp outside. Qi Xi waved at Qi Zhounan, preparing to climb over the nearby fence, when a car happened to drive by, its headlights illuminating them.

Qi Xi snorted angrily and crouched quickly under the fence to hide. He watched the car stop at the yard gate.

Then, someone got out of the car and jogged over to open the backseat door. A long leg stepped out of the car.

Qi Xi recognized Fu Yanchuan by his legs alone and suddenly rushed out.

Qi Zhounan didn’t manage to grab him from behind. He watched as Qi Xi ran up to the person who had gotten out of the car and hugged him.

He also recognized the man as the one Qi Xi liked. He became so angry that he punched the fence. Weren’t they supposed to leave together?

“Brother Yan, did you come to pick me up?”

Qi Xi rubbed his face against Fu Yanchuan’s neck, unable to hide his joy. His Brother Yan had really come to pick him up.

Fu Yanchuan naturally wrapped his arms around Qi Xi, who had suddenly rushed out. He glanced in the direction where Qi Xi had just been and asked, “How did you come over from the yard?”

Qi Xi remembered that he was running away and hurriedly pulled Fu Yanchuan along. He said, “I just ran out. Let’s go quickly! My dad won’t allow us to be together. He wants to lock me up.”

Fu Yanchuan stopped him in his tracks. Qi Xi looked back at him in confusion. Fu Yanchuan said, “It’s fine. I’m here.”

At that moment, the main gate of the villa opened. Fu Yanchuan had contacted someone Qi Feng knew and given them advance notice. Qi Feng walked to the gate and looked outside. He never expected the man holding Qi Xi to be Fu Yanchuan.

Seeing Qi Xi—who should have been in his room upstairs—being held by another man in public made Qi Feng clench his teeth in anger.

Fu Yanchuan patted Qi Xi’s back comfortingly, took his hand, and walked toward the gate as if he were the master of the house.

Qi Feng didn’t know Fu Yanchuan personally, but he knew of him. In the business world, there was no one who didn’t know him.

Seeing Fu Yanchuan openly holding his son’s hand made Qi Feng feel uneasy, yet he didn’t dare glare at Fu Yanchuan. Instead, he took the initiative to step aside and watch Fu Yanchuan walk past him and go inside.

Still afraid of Qi Feng, Qi Xi shrank to Fu Yanchuan’s other side, carefully glancing at Qi Feng. When he realized that Qi Feng was very afraid of Fu Yanchuan, Qi Xi immediately felt emboldened by his borrowed authority.

Fu Yanchuan brought Qi Xi inside as if he were bringing him home. He sat down in the center of the sofa. Cui Tingting and the nanny remained outside the living room, standing awkwardly and not daring to come closer.

As Qi Xi’s father, Qi Feng gathered his courage and approached Fu Yanchuan. In a condescending manner, he asked, “President Fu, what do you mean by this?”

Fu Yanchuan tossed the materials that Fu Zhenrong had investigated onto the floor in front of Qi Feng.

Qi Feng was resentful but squatted down to pick them up. After opening and glancing at them, he couldn’t hide his ugly expression.

Fu Yanchuan said calmly, “From birth until before leaving this place, Qi Xi was hospitalized thirty-two times. How many do you remember? On his birthday, you kicked him out with nowhere to go. Did you ever ask where he was? He was deceived for over two years just to earn a few hundred yuan to buy something he wanted, and you didn’t know either.”

Qi Feng was momentarily speechless. Fu Yanchuan swept a scrutinizing glance over him. “You have never fulfilled the responsibility of a father. Now that he’s an adult and capable of taking responsibility for himself, you no longer have the right to control his choices.”

Qi Feng thought that Fu Yanchuan was being sophistical. As a man, he knew how men like Fu Yanchuan would view Qi Xi. Even though he wasn’t a good father, he wouldn’t allow his son to be tricked by someone into becoming a stand-in.

He slammed the documents Fu Yanchuan had thrown onto the coffee table and said harshly, “No matter what you say, I won’t let Qi Xi go back with you.”

“I—”

Qi Xi tried to jump up and argue, but Fu Yanchuan pressed him back down.

In front of Qi Feng, Fu Yanchuan held Qi Xi possessively, grasping his hand and slowly rubbing it. Then, he glanced at Qi Feng and said, “Your company recently terminated a long-term cooperative project. I happen to have an export business in this area under me, with a scale three times that of your previous project.”

“Do you think you can buy me off and make me sell my son to you like this?”

Fu Yanchuan lowered his eyelids slightly and said, “I’m not negotiating with you. If you don’t accept, you won’t get anything, including your company.”

This time, Qi Feng was truly threatened. Suddenly, Fu Yanchuan pulled Qi Xi up and walked over to him. In a tone colder than ever before, he said, “Qi Xi is clean and innocent. I don’t want to hear anyone slander him again.”

Qi Feng met Fu Yanchuan’s eyes and was immediately seized by the fear of being stared down by a large predator. When he came back to his senses, Fu Yanchuan had already taken Qi Xi away.

Qi Feng’s gaze followed them outside just in time to see Qi Zhounan peeking through the window. He immediately vented all his anger on Qi Zhounan. “Qi Zhounan, what are you doing outside? Get back inside and study! You’re not allowed to come out without my permission!”

Qi Zhounan lowered his eyes in resentment, hating Fu Yanchuan for suddenly appearing and taking his brother away. He had just been about to leave the house with his brother.

Qi Xi was ushered into the car by Fu Yanchuan, and his buzzing mind finally started to work again. Although Qi Feng hadn’t paid much attention to him, he had always been a figure of authority in Qi Xi’s eyes. This was the first time Qi Xi had seen Qi Feng rendered speechless. He stared at Fu Yanchuan with admiration.

“Brother Yan, you’re amazing.”

Fu Yanchuan looked at Qi Xi’s face. “Did he hit you?”

Only then did the pain from the slap Qi Xi had taken start to kick in. He leaned his face over for Fu Yanchuan to see. “He hit this side. It really hurts.”

As he spoke, tears immediately fell from his eyes.

Fu Yanchuan leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. There was no visible mark left anymore. The pain Qi Xi felt was probably not on his face. Fu Yanchuan said, “I’m sorry. There won’t be a next time.”

Since the person who hit him wasn’t Fu Yanchuan, Qi Xi didn’t understand why he was apologizing. Hearing that apology made him feel even worse, though.

There was no armrest between the seats in the car today. He burrowed into Fu Yanchuan’s arms and accused Qi Feng. “I won’t call him Dad anymore. He said I—he said I—”

He couldn’t bring himself to say the ugly words Qi Feng had used to curse him. His hands tightened around Fu Yanchuan’s waist and his voice was muffled by Fu Yanchuan’s clothes. “I’m not shameless.”

Hearing this, Fu Yanchuan guessed what Qi Xi had been called and asked, “What do you want to do about him?”

Qi Xi looked up at him blankly for a moment, then answered, “I never want to see him again.”

“Okay.”

 

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